Hi friends! I had a beautiful day harvesting herbs for a convergence that I'll soon be attending. From July 26th-July 31st, many of us will be gathering on the Oglala Lakota Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota for the Indigenous Wisdom and Permaculture Skills Convergence (IWPS Convergence). My friends are organizers and teachers of this convergence, and I am so honored to be able to witness and be a part of the creation.
The convergence goals, as stated on their website (https://www.iwpsconvergence.com/about), are:
Complete Lakota-initiated projects that increase food security, build sustainable infrastructure, and enhance economic opportunity on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
Provide stipends (see: Community Stewards Stipend Program) for Pine Ridge residents to join as paid stewards and learn useful ecological design and construction skills.
Attendees learn and practice permaculture design through hands-on workshops, and leave the Convergence with a deeper understanding of natural building, aquaponics, traditional ecological knowledge, and appropriate technologies. ALL projects were selected as beneficial by our Lakota partners.
Create community through music, skill shares, and meals that are open to the Pine Ridge community.
Build long-term relationships that support the resiliency of indigenous and Earth-centered networks.
Two of my friends are heading the food portion of the convergence, which is a big task. They will be feeding three meals per day to all the participants - wow kitchen angels! One of these beautiful ladies, Megan, just posted a photo of herbs she harvested to cook with for the convergence. I saw her photo and realized that I had a ton of herbs that I could harvest too and bring over for them to cook with.
I spent today harvesting dill, oregano, parsley, thyme, rosemary, moldavian balm, lemon mint, spearmint, tulsi, basil, mayan mint, sage, huacatay, and quillquina.
I've been reading into different ways of drying herbs : I can use a dehydrator, use a microwave, use an oven, ect. However, all of these ways require me to use an unsustainable energy source. Instead, I decided to get an all natural herb dryer. I bought an outdoor herb dryer (you can find it here). I hung it on the north side of my home so that it will be in the shade for most of the day. Herbs prefer to be dried in a warm, dry place out of direct sunlight.
Most herbs thrive when harvested in a sustainable manner. In fact, the more you smart-harvest herbs, the more herbs will grow! What do I mean about smart-harvest? My rule of thumb for most cut and come again herbs is to not harvest more than a third of the plant at a time. I also harvest any parts of the plant that are going to flower in order to extend the life of that plant. For many plants, like basil and tulsi, it is very important to be regularly harvesting the tops of the plant so that they "bush out" and don't go to flower too soon.
After I use my clippers to harvest my herbs, I usually take those herbs and put them in a very large pot or bowl. I then fill the container with cold water and let the herbs sit for at least 15 minutes. I do this so that any soil particles or non-plant particles have a chance to float to the bottom or top of the container (separated from the herbs).
It is best to harvest herbs in the morning when the dew has already evaporated off of the herbs but the majority of the plant's essential oils have not yet burned off. I had already dried the spearmint and lemon mint, and they were ready to be stored today. For storage, I grabbed a couple of mason jars, my funnel, and the herbs. I then used my fingers to break apart the dried leaves from the stem. I labeled the jars (it's easy to get mixed up between different kinds of mints!) and put them in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight.
The photos below are my harvest from today! I can't wait to bring these herbs over to the IWPS Convergence with me!
If you feel called to attend this convergence, there are still tickets left at https://www.iwpsconvergence.com/tickets
If you want to support this incredible gathering but cannot attend, they are still accepting donations here https://www.generosity.com/education-fundraising/pine-ridge-permaculture-iwps-convergence
Thanks for reading and I hope you have a beautiful day :-)
sounds like a cool event, skill shares usually work out really well, just look at steemit ^_^
Good point :-)
we really attention that is returning to our plants
Great to see another herbalist practicing and following permaculture principles.
Thanks @selfreliant :-)
love the idea of how you guys are drying the herbs :)
thanks for that!
Gotta love all the love and attention that is returning to our plants and the more earthy ways of things. Keep doing wonderful beautiful earth healing soul sister!
PS that drying rack looks clutch!
Thanks so much @jayjayjeffery! I just checked out your blog and am excited for more posts from you :-)
Really thanks for this post ! The more people is learning about permaculture the more easy will be for the ecosystem to heal the plant diseases in my opinion. Wish you the best to continue ! (resteemed of course)
Re-Steemed. I'm very passionate about natural remedies and way of life.
That's awesome @geechidan!
very good
Outstanding post and narrative! Thank you for sharing.
Thanks so much @michaelstobiersk :-)
Lovely post, your dog reminds me of my brothers!
LOL, my dog sometimes reminds me of my brother too!
A permaculture convergence sounds like a great idea, we don't have anything like that in my area. I've started growing some herbs but use them fresh mostly, how long do home dried herbs stay good/beneficial?
When I dry them for teas I usually give them a 1 year shelf life, though it varies on what part of the plant is dried (flower, root, ect).
Here is a good resource: https://www.frontiercoop.com/community/herb-guide/how-to-store-herbs
That is a great resource, bookmarked. Thank you for taking the time to reply.
Have a little basil ~
Great info. I have a question. I am trying to grow rosemary, but I am even farther north than the gathering in South Dakota. I know you are in the Bay area, so you have an entirely different climate, but do you have any info on speeding the growth? I'm afraid that by the first frost in September, my rosemary will still be too small to be much use. I currently have it growing in a 5 gallon container. Any tips would be great!
Joe
Hmm maybe try feeding it with some worm castings or some green manure (soaked comfrey) to speed up leafy growth? Also rosemary doesn't like to stay wet so making sure that it has plenty of drainage in the 5 gallon container, and keeping it in a full sun area. It may just need another season to get big enough to harvest though! You can propogate rosemary by taking 7 inch cuttings and sticking these cuttings in pots, and they will form into new plants, that way you'll have more plants to harvest from!
@anwenbaumeister thanks for sharing this with us and what an interesting way to spend the day...good one
Thanks for reading @charles1 :-)
you are welcome
Nice Post . Thanks for sharing. I liked your work. Keep it up. Upvoted and Followed . 👍
Pretty cool. I would love to talk to you one day on my show in the future. I'm really interesting in having a Natural Remedies episode.
That sounds great!
Upvoted & RESTEEMED :]
Thanks @steemit2017!
Hey @anwenbaumeister !
awesome post, nice to know about your work. i really enjoyed your post,thanks for sharing this.
UPVOTED you.
Thanks @fatema :-)
Thanks for sharing @anwenbaumeister the good news from Pine Ridge Reservation and your herbal skills. Good luck at the convergence. Does OLCERI has something do with the Republic of Lakota?
Why are over there no trees around? It would be great to start a plant initiative...
I'm not too sure, I'll report back in a couple of weeks! Hopefully there are some trees around, just not in that picture :-) If not, it would be wonderful to plant some trees if they are appropriate for the environment and the local residents want them :-)
hi, I live in Myanmar Country.
Please follow and vote me.
A lovely creation indeed ! So much to learn !
Thanks @lanceman! Yes, always so much to learn :-)
Wow it's Encouraging .........
Great to hear :-)
Oh my goodness the convergence sounds like a piece of Heaven, I'm so happy for you to be able to attend what will surely be a life changing experience. Brings a smile to my face knowing that the focus will be on sustainability and self-sufficiency in growing food and communities working together in peace, harmony, and sharing, just the way life was intended to be lived.
I can't wait to read all about your experience when you get back.
Wonderful herb gardens you have! That basil patch WOW!!!! And thank you too for the tip about soaking herbs before drying them. I love your herb dryer, looks like I need to find one of those!
Thanks so much for the beautiful feedback @lyndsaybowes! Also thanks for your awesome buns recipe that you just posted :-)
You're very welcome, I hope you can try the buns one day!
Thank you for sharing!!
Thanks for reading :-)
This stuff is so important!
I am grateful that you are not only investing in the knowledge and skill our self but that you are also sharing it here on Steemit!
You have a special way of connection with people, people jus tLIKE you, which means they are open to what you have to share. This is great because we need a lot more exposure to this.
Great to see your success and I wish you even more!
SteemON!
Thanks so much @quinneaker! It's amazing to connect with so many open-minded folks on Steemit and to share our incredible earth knowledge!
Yes it is!
Keep up the good work!
SteemON!
Great post! Nothing better than fresh herbs. Never heard of moldavian balm, huacatay, and quillquina. Love the drying system. Such a great idea. Thanks for sharing this great info!
Thanks @amy-goodrich! Moldavian balm is amazing, it's like lemon balm but the strong scent remains once it is dried, and is known to lift spirits. Huacatay is an incredible herb. I was so excited when I found the seed at a seed exchange because it was the herb in my favorite sauce in Peru. I think it's also known as Peruvian black mint?
Thanks for the info. Love mint and lemon balm! I'll keep my eyes open for these varieties.
This whole post fills me with happiness. :) You remind me so much of a dear friend also.. I just emailed her the link to this post. Maybe she'll be at that convergence. Now to drink some Tulsi before bedtime...! Thanks for sharing!
I will upvote you, please upvote me too .
This is awesome. I could only imagine the experience of being there. Nice photos as well. 👍🏾👍🏾
I like fresh food :)
This is very interesting. And sounds like an awesome event. Very educational for sure. We have several different herbs that we grow in our garden. I would love to have a huge garden of herbs. Maybe someday i will. I love having our home grown and dried herbs to season our foods with. Thamk youfor sharing. Definitely going to follow you.
Wow this is fantastic 👌😊 thanks for sharing